Barbara Rosario Garced’s love for children helped her persevere on a fast track to complete her Child Development Associate. Rosario-Garced is one of five LCCAA Head Start staff members to earn the credential in March.

Although she has an associate’s degree in health care and remains passionate about the profession, becoming a mother “awakened a new love for children.” Now with one of her two daughters enrolled at Hopkins-Locke Head Start, she has worked as an Early Childhood Service Worker for the past nine months.

“What I learned has helped me connect better with children and families,” she said. “The most challenging aspect of this process was overcoming all the fears and insecurities about being able to achieve this goal. The most rewarding part was the support of my family and seeing that I was able to achieve it in such a short amount of time.”

The CDA is widely recognized as the foundational credential for the profession of early childhood education. Requirements include 120 hours of coursework, a portfolio, 480 hours of classroom work and a classroom visit.